CALL it the Scott Boras Effect. With the 28th pick in the June 5 First-Year Player Draft, the Yankees selected Orange Lutheran (Calif.) High School right-hander Gerrit Cole. Considered the top high school pitcher heading into the draft, Cole was the No. 17 overall prospect, according to Baseball America.

But thanks in large part to a $7 million price tag Boras floated to keep Cole from his commitment to UCLA, he nearly slipped out of the first round before the Yankees snagged him.

“I don’t know why other people passed on him,” Yankees vice president of scouting Damon Oppenheimer said. “I’m sure people have concerns about certain players’ representation, but when we saw him there, there was no way to pass that up.”

Mike Grahovac, Cole’s coach at Orange Lutheran, first saw him throw a bullpen as a sophomore two years ago. That was all it took for Grahovac, a former minor league catcher, to realize the potential in Cole’s right arm.

“He’s the only kid I’ve seen that I only had to see him once to realize he was special,” Grahovac said.

The 17-year-old Cole, who is 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, went 8-2 with a 0.47 ERA this season. He allowed five earned runs in 75 innings, striking out 121 and walking 18. Along with a fastball that regularly hits the mid-to-high 90s, Cole throws a slider and changeup, and has been called the best Southern California right-hander since current Yankee Phil Hughes.

A scout who had seen Cole over the past two years felt he was a top 10 talent in the draft.

“He’s got a special arm,” the scout said. “He’s only 17 years old, and he’s throwing 99 mph. He’s got a feel for the change, too. . . . He could potentially have three plus pitches.”

Gary Purcell’s Norco HS team handed Cole one of his two losses, beating Cole 1-0, but the opposing coach had nothing but praise for the young right-hander.

“He was better than anything I’ve seen in a lot of years coaching,” Purcell said. “At this stage of his career, he was the most overpowering of anyone I’ve seen by far. In our game alone, he hit triple digits at least three times.”

Though teams didn’t want the headache of having to deal with Boras, there also were questions about Cole’s demeanor on the mound, and toward his teammates, heading into the draft. The scout, however, didn’t see it as a problem.

“I don’t think it’s an issue,” the scout said. “I kind of like it. You’ve got to have some confidence, attitude, even some cockiness to a degree. I don’t think the kid’s a jerk or anything.

“He’s a 17-year-old kid who’s had a lot of publicity. He’s a confident kid, and he should be.”